Understanding the difference between XML and HTML

XML and HTML are different and they both have different goals. They are designed for different purposes. Some people think that xml is an advanced version of html and it has come to replace html. It is not the case. Both will be there as they are used for different purposes.

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XML files are meant to hold data and data in an xml file is well described. If you look at an xml file you can say what it holds. For example if you find a number in an xml file you can find out easily what that number identifies, whether it is the number of products, or the price of a product etc. In html it is not the case.

HTML is used to display the data in a formatted way. You can apply styles and use different layouts to display the data in an html file. The data that is displayed in an html file could come from an xml file.

So to say in simple words, html displays the data and xml holds the data!

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